Venice to Limit Number of Visitors?
Nov 2, 2016, 8:53 am
#1
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Venice to Limit Number of Visitors?
Like Cinque Terre did by limiting the number of visitors this year, so that when the number reached a quota, further visitors would have to wait until the next day, Venice is considering doing the same. I doubt it will happen any time soon, but there are five different political proposals to do so that are on the table. The number of tourists is just too much.
Last weekend, the bridge for cars from the mainland to Venice, which has about one street for cars that just takes you to a parking lot, was at complete gridlock. The parking lot was full. There was no way to turn around. This is because the weather was still summer like, and everyone was still coming. The bridge was in gridlock. The lines for the vaporetti stretched for several blocks. Nobody could move.
The city is the most beautiful city in the world, but it's nice when you can actually see it, and not just see people's heads. Plus, tourists tend to misbehave when in Venice. So now, it started in August with flyers being posted around town, saying, "Tourists Go Home! You are Ruining Our City!" Then at the vaporetto stops, a special line for Venetian residents to be able to cut in front of and board before tourists. Now, the concept being floated is that you will have to buy a ticket to visit Venice. They are also promoting that Venice is more than San Marco and Rialto, so that people disperse themselves around the city instead of limiting themselves to Piazza San Marco.
The picture here from this last weekend says it all, as does the headline, "Venice Paralyzed by Tourists." http://www.lastampa.it/2016/11/01/it...KI/pagina.html
The idea is that there will be a closed number of visitors, and to visit Venice you will have to use an app on your smartphone and make a reservation. Similar to what happened when Cinque Terre was destroyed by tourism, and they had to limit access. Just look at the picture on the above link. After last weekend, the people finally said enough is enough. No more. They are really, really serious about this. They are going to finalize proposals by the end of the year, so that Venice can be normal again.
You never know if they will be able to follow through, but Venice is clearly sick and tired of having too many visitors, most of who come, and don't even sleep there. Don't even get started with AirBnb, if you are there, don't tell them you are staying in an AirBnb, because they hate stuff like that with passion.
Last weekend, the bridge for cars from the mainland to Venice, which has about one street for cars that just takes you to a parking lot, was at complete gridlock. The parking lot was full. There was no way to turn around. This is because the weather was still summer like, and everyone was still coming. The bridge was in gridlock. The lines for the vaporetti stretched for several blocks. Nobody could move.
The city is the most beautiful city in the world, but it's nice when you can actually see it, and not just see people's heads. Plus, tourists tend to misbehave when in Venice. So now, it started in August with flyers being posted around town, saying, "Tourists Go Home! You are Ruining Our City!" Then at the vaporetto stops, a special line for Venetian residents to be able to cut in front of and board before tourists. Now, the concept being floated is that you will have to buy a ticket to visit Venice. They are also promoting that Venice is more than San Marco and Rialto, so that people disperse themselves around the city instead of limiting themselves to Piazza San Marco.
The picture here from this last weekend says it all, as does the headline, "Venice Paralyzed by Tourists." http://www.lastampa.it/2016/11/01/it...KI/pagina.html
The idea is that there will be a closed number of visitors, and to visit Venice you will have to use an app on your smartphone and make a reservation. Similar to what happened when Cinque Terre was destroyed by tourism, and they had to limit access. Just look at the picture on the above link. After last weekend, the people finally said enough is enough. No more. They are really, really serious about this. They are going to finalize proposals by the end of the year, so that Venice can be normal again.
You never know if they will be able to follow through, but Venice is clearly sick and tired of having too many visitors, most of who come, and don't even sleep there. Don't even get started with AirBnb, if you are there, don't tell them you are staying in an AirBnb, because they hate stuff like that with passion.
Nov 2, 2016, 11:51 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SEA
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Venice might be paralyzed by tourists in the summer, but the local economy is too far gone to do anything else. If the tourists go home, what exactly will Venice do? Are they hoping that some native Venetians return home? What jobs will they have? There really isn't much opportunity for educated/skilled workers. I get the sentiment (and even support it that far), but at the same time, I'm not sure what the economic alternatives are.
I do like the idea of marketing the areas beyond San Marco and Ponte Rialto.
I do like the idea of marketing the areas beyond San Marco and Ponte Rialto.
Nov 2, 2016, 11:58 am
#3
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http://www.lastampa.it/2016/08/24/it...CO/pagina.html This is not the first time this has been brought up. Here's an article from August. Look at the picture of San Marco. The idea is that Venice has 25 million visitors per year, far more than Rome and Florence combined. However, only about 4.5 million actually sleep in the city. The rest go back to their cruise ship. It's called "morde e fuge," or bite and run. They don't add anything to the economy. That type of tourism can be eliminated with little consequence to the city.
Last edited by Perche; Nov 2, 2016 at 1:05 pm
Nov 2, 2016, 1:57 pm
#4
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Limit the cruise ships. Significantly. Allow no more than a certain number of disembarkations per day.
Four years ago, they were cruising the Guidecca while blaring Andrea Bocelli. It was awful. Totally cheesy and a true environmental degradation. Brought to you by people who had paid good money to visit a place they were ruining. The worst kind of irony. Venice stopped that horror.
Anyone who's familiar with Venice, just stays away from S.Marco/Rialto until the cruisers head back to their boats around 5 pm.
But let's not fool ourselves. Unlike Perche (who I think works there), I'm strictly a tourist in Venice. I like to consider myself a visitor, but that's nuance really.
Venice has been a tourism center since their banking and trade empire collapsed. And was a tourist destination of note by the 18th century. Tourists are a fact of life for Venice. But cruise ships depositing tens of thousands per hour is going to kill the place.
I get there every couple of years and have watched (and despised) this locust-like daily invasion of daytripperdom get worse over the years (excepting the major improvement I mentioned above). But as Perche has said repeatedly, it's extremely localized. All of these people seem to be in the same small area.
My last visit was October 2014. I kind of get Venice and found the crowds were easy to avoid all together. If I need to, I only go into the affected area early in the morning or in the evening.
My next visit is coming up in early June. I'll be curious to see what's going on for myself.
Four years ago, they were cruising the Guidecca while blaring Andrea Bocelli. It was awful. Totally cheesy and a true environmental degradation. Brought to you by people who had paid good money to visit a place they were ruining. The worst kind of irony. Venice stopped that horror.
Anyone who's familiar with Venice, just stays away from S.Marco/Rialto until the cruisers head back to their boats around 5 pm.
But let's not fool ourselves. Unlike Perche (who I think works there), I'm strictly a tourist in Venice. I like to consider myself a visitor, but that's nuance really.
Venice has been a tourism center since their banking and trade empire collapsed. And was a tourist destination of note by the 18th century. Tourists are a fact of life for Venice. But cruise ships depositing tens of thousands per hour is going to kill the place.
I get there every couple of years and have watched (and despised) this locust-like daily invasion of daytripperdom get worse over the years (excepting the major improvement I mentioned above). But as Perche has said repeatedly, it's extremely localized. All of these people seem to be in the same small area.
My last visit was October 2014. I kind of get Venice and found the crowds were easy to avoid all together. If I need to, I only go into the affected area early in the morning or in the evening.
My next visit is coming up in early June. I'll be curious to see what's going on for myself.
Nov 2, 2016, 2:30 pm
#5
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I can't be certain what he said was true or overstated, but it can't be denied it makes economic sense. If it isn't happening, it certainly ought to be. Renting an apartment in Venice is a widely-held bucket list item.
So hating on apartment rentals while cashing in on them is ironic to say the least.
Nov 2, 2016, 3:44 pm
#6
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Oh no, there are constant articles about the destruction of AirBnb in Venice. Houses in Venice were traditionally occupied for generations. With so much touristic demand, owners began to note that if they evicted the tenants of their building, they could rent out the apartments for a week for more than what a Venetian tenant would pay for three months rent. Families that had been occupying an apartment for 100 years were suddenly being force out so that the landlord could turn it into an AirBnb for tourists. Whole neighborhoods have been destroyed. The newspaper periodically prints a page with a map of Venice, and a red dot where there is an AirBnb. The map of Venice is a blaze of red dots, mostly representing residents who were forced out by greedy landlords. Does this increase the property value? Of course. But only to the landlord.
It is hard to tell which is most unpopular, the cruise ships, or AirBnb.
When you have a neighborhood of mostly tourists, there will be no tailor, no bakery, no seller of fresh fish, no fruit stand. Just souvenir shops.
Last weekend's gridlock in Venice is being attributed to the new edition of Lonely Planet travel guide, right or wrong, which listed Venice as the fourth most affordable travel destination in the world, right behind Nepal and Vietnam. This led to a lot of head scratching. Venice is not cheap. But what the guidebook said was that Venice has so many AirBnb's that you don't need to pay for a hotel, and since they have a kitchen you don't need to go to restaurants.
One can argue cause and effect, or tail wagging the dog, but Venetians are not pleased about the AirBnb phenomenon, except for landlords.
It is hard to tell which is most unpopular, the cruise ships, or AirBnb.
When you have a neighborhood of mostly tourists, there will be no tailor, no bakery, no seller of fresh fish, no fruit stand. Just souvenir shops.
Last weekend's gridlock in Venice is being attributed to the new edition of Lonely Planet travel guide, right or wrong, which listed Venice as the fourth most affordable travel destination in the world, right behind Nepal and Vietnam. This led to a lot of head scratching. Venice is not cheap. But what the guidebook said was that Venice has so many AirBnb's that you don't need to pay for a hotel, and since they have a kitchen you don't need to go to restaurants.
One can argue cause and effect, or tail wagging the dog, but Venetians are not pleased about the AirBnb phenomenon, except for landlords.
Last edited by Perche; Nov 2, 2016 at 4:06 pm
Nov 2, 2016, 4:15 pm
#7
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Here is what I mean. And this map is from a year ago, but it's all I can access at the moment. It's twice as bad now. The citizens have almost declared war, because like cruise ships, AirBnb landlords don't pay taxes, and more than 60% are operating illegally. I'm not trying to criticize how people travel, but I do want to substantiate that if you are going to Venice and are staying in an AirBnb, you probably want to be quiet about it.
http://m.mattinopadova.gelocal.it/re...smo-1.11976670
The headline means, "3,000 ghost places to stay," that is, they are all operating illegally, under the radar. The last map I read now has the number at 15,000. This is not a healthy phenomenon. The sub-title of the article means, "the war against the tourists."
http://m.mattinopadova.gelocal.it/re...smo-1.11976670
The headline means, "3,000 ghost places to stay," that is, they are all operating illegally, under the radar. The last map I read now has the number at 15,000. This is not a healthy phenomenon. The sub-title of the article means, "the war against the tourists."
Nov 2, 2016, 5:40 pm
#8
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Limit the cruise ships. Significantly. Allow no more than a certain number of disembarkations per day.
Four years ago, they were cruising the Guidecca while blaring Andrea Bocelli. It was awful. Totally cheesy and a true environmental degradation. Brought to you by people who had paid good money to visit a place they were ruining. The worst kind of irony. Venice stopped that horror.
Anyone who's familiar with Venice, just stays away from S.Marco/Rialto until the cruisers head back to their boats around 5 pm.
But let's not fool ourselves. Unlike Perche (who I think works there), I'm strictly a tourist in Venice. I like to consider myself a visitor, but that's nuance really.
Venice has been a tourism center since their banking and trade empire collapsed. And was a tourist destination of note by the 18th century. Tourists are a fact of life for Venice. But cruise ships depositing tens of thousands per hour is going to kill the place.
I get there every couple of years and have watched (and despised) this locust-like daily invasion of daytripperdom get worse over the years (excepting the major improvement I mentioned above). But as Perche has said repeatedly, it's extremely localized. All of these people seem to be in the same small area.
My last visit was October 2014. I kind of get Venice and found the crowds were easy to avoid all together. If I need to, I only go into the affected area early in the morning or in the evening.
My next visit is coming up in early June. I'll be curious to see what's going on for myself.
Four years ago, they were cruising the Guidecca while blaring Andrea Bocelli. It was awful. Totally cheesy and a true environmental degradation. Brought to you by people who had paid good money to visit a place they were ruining. The worst kind of irony. Venice stopped that horror.
Anyone who's familiar with Venice, just stays away from S.Marco/Rialto until the cruisers head back to their boats around 5 pm.
But let's not fool ourselves. Unlike Perche (who I think works there), I'm strictly a tourist in Venice. I like to consider myself a visitor, but that's nuance really.
Venice has been a tourism center since their banking and trade empire collapsed. And was a tourist destination of note by the 18th century. Tourists are a fact of life for Venice. But cruise ships depositing tens of thousands per hour is going to kill the place.
I get there every couple of years and have watched (and despised) this locust-like daily invasion of daytripperdom get worse over the years (excepting the major improvement I mentioned above). But as Perche has said repeatedly, it's extremely localized. All of these people seem to be in the same small area.
My last visit was October 2014. I kind of get Venice and found the crowds were easy to avoid all together. If I need to, I only go into the affected area early in the morning or in the evening.
My next visit is coming up in early June. I'll be curious to see what's going on for myself.
Little by little, things may change. Venice did vote to severely limit cruise ships a few years ago because of the damage they do to the city. One cruise ship passing through spills out the air pollution of 15,000 cars stuck in traffic for an hour. Until the cruise ship explosion Venice had the cleanest air of any city because there were no cars. The vote, almost unanimously chosen by Venetians to severely limit cruise ships from bringing people to Venice by cruise ship was overturned by a court in Rome.
Almost 100% of the money that cruise ships pay for docking, fees, and taxes to stop in Venice goes to Rome. Rome then decides how small of a slice of that to send back to Venice.
The article I linked to that was published in August I ignored, thinking it's impossible. Seeing the follow up article this week made me think it has the potential to be taken seriously.
A few months ago I posted the news about Florence banning ethnic restaurants from the city historic center, and the rule that 80% of restaurant food must be from Tuscany. Whether that was right or wrong is an individual decision. Then, Cinque Terre decided to limit the number of visitors. Venice, although the decision was overturned, largely banned cruise ships.
Cruise ships are not going away, but they are dredging a new channel to make the cruise ships have to dock outside the city and take smaller boats in. That's very controversial because new channels change the flow of water into and out of the lagoon, and affect the ecology in unknown ways.
It does seem as if people are starting to say "enough." Venice will always live on tourism, but people are starting to realize that it needs to be better controlled, or else nothing will be left.
Nov 2, 2016, 5:52 pm
#9
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To be clear, I don't disagree, I just don't want to see anything done so drastically that Venice is left without its core economy intact. To give some perspective, I live just south of Portland, Maine, near Old Orchard Beach, which is very dependent on tourism (more so than the rest of the state). People complain about the traffic down Route 1 in the summer, but if those Canadians, New Yorkers, M.......s (heh), etc stop showing up, that town has a problem. And summers like this past one and the one before it, where fewer Canadians traveled because their currency is weak, really let the town feel it. And this isn't a town actively trying to curb any aspect of its tourist flow.
Now, I know OOB isn't Venice, but there are pitfalls to having a non-diversified economy. I'd be happy if Venice never landed another cruise ship, but would that be better for its residents? I'm not entirely sure.
Now, I know OOB isn't Venice, but there are pitfalls to having a non-diversified economy. I'd be happy if Venice never landed another cruise ship, but would that be better for its residents? I'm not entirely sure.
Nov 2, 2016, 7:16 pm
#10
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Oh no, there are constant articles about the destruction of AirBnb in Venice. Houses in Venice were traditionally occupied for generations. With so much touristic demand, owners began to note that if they evicted the tenants of their building, they could rent out the apartments for a week for more than what a Venetian tenant would pay for three months rent. Families that had been occupying an apartment for 100 years were suddenly being force out so that the landlord could turn it into an AirBnb for tourists. Whole neighborhoods have been destroyed. The newspaper periodically prints a page with a map of Venice, and a red dot where there is an AirBnb. The map of Venice is a blaze of red dots, mostly representing residents who were forced out by greedy landlords. Does this increase the property value? Of course. But only to the landlord.
It is hard to tell which is most unpopular, the cruise ships, or AirBnb.
When you have a neighborhood of mostly tourists, there will be no tailor, no bakery, no seller of fresh fish, no fruit stand. Just souvenir shops.
Last weekend's gridlock in Venice is being attributed to the new edition of Lonely Planet travel guide, right or wrong, which listed Venice as the fourth most affordable travel destination in the world, right behind Nepal and Vietnam. This led to a lot of head scratching. Venice is not cheap. But what the guidebook said was that Venice has so many AirBnb's that you don't need to pay for a hotel, and since they have a kitchen you don't need to go to restaurants.
One can argue cause and effect, or tail wagging the dog, but Venetians are not pleased about the AirBnb phenomenon, except for landlords.
It is hard to tell which is most unpopular, the cruise ships, or AirBnb.
When you have a neighborhood of mostly tourists, there will be no tailor, no bakery, no seller of fresh fish, no fruit stand. Just souvenir shops.
Last weekend's gridlock in Venice is being attributed to the new edition of Lonely Planet travel guide, right or wrong, which listed Venice as the fourth most affordable travel destination in the world, right behind Nepal and Vietnam. This led to a lot of head scratching. Venice is not cheap. But what the guidebook said was that Venice has so many AirBnb's that you don't need to pay for a hotel, and since they have a kitchen you don't need to go to restaurants.
One can argue cause and effect, or tail wagging the dog, but Venetians are not pleased about the AirBnb phenomenon, except for landlords.
I do use short term rental in Venice (I generally won't stay in hotels for more than 3 nights and I won't visit Venice for just 3 days.) but I prefer to go with local services or providers. Here again the reality is, the property I've booked from its owner through its own website, I've also seen listed on VRBO/Home Away. Though not on Airbnb. This property has been a short term rental for years.
As for interaction with the city, I'll make my own breakfast, but I'm not visiting Venice to cook meals at home. I stay home for that😏. And I enjoy shopping for household staples while traveling. Its a great opportunity to interact with people in a non touristic venue. When I was last in Venice, the neighborhood I rented in was a real one, local shops and restaurants. Not a mask or glass shop around. This next time, its a family trip, with 3 generations. Choices were somewhat limited, but I found this more commercial property, a Palazzo, converted to two flats in Castello.
But really, from what you're saying (and I trust you implicitly about Venice) I'm not sure there's anything like a short term rental that wouldn't violate the spirit of what Venice desires. Which is going to be problematic as this type of accommodation is going to be increasingly popular. (In fact, FT is, I believe, about to set up a forum for this style of lodging).
Nov 2, 2016, 7:35 pm
#11
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The same exact thing is happening to Florence. You know how to avoid the traps, as I do in Venice, but here is a recent interview with the head of tourism of Florence, that came out in the Venice newspaper.
http://nuovavenezia.gelocal.it/venez...zon-1.14177625
For those who cannot read it, I'll briefly paraphrase and summarize:
Headline, "Florence has the same problem as Venice with AirBnb, and Amazon."
"Florence is a world UNESCO site, but was pressured to change by UNESCO last year because of the crushing presence of tourism changing the sale and uses of historic apartments."
"How many tourists come to Florence?"
Response, "We have 380,000 citizens, but at least 3 million tourists per month. We now have 8,000 AirBnb's competing against our 400 hotels."
"As with Venice, do tourists coming to Florence tend to be disrespectful and misbehave?"
This response;
Certo, purtroppo sì, certi turisti sono maleducati e incivili.
"Certainly, unfortunately yes, many tourists are delinquent and uncivil."
Da lunedì scorso è partita una fase sperimentale che prevede che ci siano alcune pattuglie in orario serale in centro storico. Pensare di fermare gli abusivi con le multe è come pensare di svuotare il mare con un cucchiaino.
"Last Monday we started new experiment to prevent people hanging around downtown in the historic center at night, giving them fines, but stopping the abuses is like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon."
In questo modo, con le pattuglie, abbiamo già visto un miglioramento. C’è un’ottima collaborazione con le forze dell’ordine, nei primi otto mesi di quest’anno sono stati sequestrati 76 mila oggetti illegali.
"With these sort of actions, collaborating with the police, in the first eight months of the year we've confiscated 76,000 illegal things."
How are you confronting the problem of AirBnb?
"Abbiamo fatto presente che avevamo il problema del nero e della mancanza dell’introito dell’imposta del soggiorno."
"The fact is that we have a problem because they are operate illegally, off the books, they don't even charge the visitors the hotel tax that people have to pay to spend a night in a hotel in Florence."
Ci sono tanti cambi di destinazione d’uso per approfittare dell’assalto turistico?
"What changes have been made to deal with the assault of tourists?
Per quanto riguarda il cambio di destinazione d’uso a Firenze non è così diffuso come a Venezia, ma comunque cerchiamo di facilitare la residenza.
"The changes to the destinations of Florence haven't been as widespread as in Venice, but we are searching for ways to make the lives of those who actually live here more tolerable."
Come valorizzate gli artigiani di qualità locali?
"How are you showing that you value local shopkeepers?"
Siamo stati i primi a pensare di vendere i prodotti dei nostri artigiani su Amazon, nella sezione “Made in Italy”. Amazon ha mandato una squadra a Firenze che si è confrontata con le associazioni di categoria, il Comune ha pagato un fotografo per scattare delle belle foto. Oggi molti dei nostri artigiani sono tutti online e a rotazione vengono messi in primo piano, così viene anche stimolata la competitività. Anche questo è un modo per tutelare la residenza perché se sopravvivono le botteghe allora sopravvive anche la residenza."
"We were the first city to decide to sell its products on Amazon.com, in a section called "Made in Italy. We had Amazon send a team here, and the city hired photographers to make top notch pictures of their products to sell on Amazon. Our shopkeepers are now the first you find on search engines, and they compete compete with each other that way. We are also teaching the citizens who live here to support their local stores, because if their local stores survive, then their apartment is going to survive."
Come avete reagito al richiamo dell’Unesco?
How did you react to UNESCO's warning that Florence was in trouble (pertaining to its status as a UNESCO world heritage site.)?
"We said that we have to intervene in how we manage the historic city center. We have given ten suggestions to businesses that we recommend they follow such as those that forbid selling alcohol between 11 at night and 6 in the morning, that a certain percentage of the food served in Florence has to come from Tuscany, and we recommend that they don't open anymore slot machine game rooms in the city center."
(In summary, these are not Venetian problems, they are Italian problems. Italy has a declining population. After Rome, the city with the most Italians citizens living in it is London, where many youth have moved to. Venice just gets the headlines.)
http://nuovavenezia.gelocal.it/venez...zon-1.14177625
For those who cannot read it, I'll briefly paraphrase and summarize:
Headline, "Florence has the same problem as Venice with AirBnb, and Amazon."
"Florence is a world UNESCO site, but was pressured to change by UNESCO last year because of the crushing presence of tourism changing the sale and uses of historic apartments."
"How many tourists come to Florence?"
Response, "We have 380,000 citizens, but at least 3 million tourists per month. We now have 8,000 AirBnb's competing against our 400 hotels."
"As with Venice, do tourists coming to Florence tend to be disrespectful and misbehave?"
This response;
Certo, purtroppo sì, certi turisti sono maleducati e incivili.
"Certainly, unfortunately yes, many tourists are delinquent and uncivil."
Da lunedì scorso è partita una fase sperimentale che prevede che ci siano alcune pattuglie in orario serale in centro storico. Pensare di fermare gli abusivi con le multe è come pensare di svuotare il mare con un cucchiaino.
"Last Monday we started new experiment to prevent people hanging around downtown in the historic center at night, giving them fines, but stopping the abuses is like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon."
In questo modo, con le pattuglie, abbiamo già visto un miglioramento. C’è un’ottima collaborazione con le forze dell’ordine, nei primi otto mesi di quest’anno sono stati sequestrati 76 mila oggetti illegali.
"With these sort of actions, collaborating with the police, in the first eight months of the year we've confiscated 76,000 illegal things."
How are you confronting the problem of AirBnb?
"Abbiamo fatto presente che avevamo il problema del nero e della mancanza dell’introito dell’imposta del soggiorno."
"The fact is that we have a problem because they are operate illegally, off the books, they don't even charge the visitors the hotel tax that people have to pay to spend a night in a hotel in Florence."
Ci sono tanti cambi di destinazione d’uso per approfittare dell’assalto turistico?
"What changes have been made to deal with the assault of tourists?
Per quanto riguarda il cambio di destinazione d’uso a Firenze non è così diffuso come a Venezia, ma comunque cerchiamo di facilitare la residenza.
"The changes to the destinations of Florence haven't been as widespread as in Venice, but we are searching for ways to make the lives of those who actually live here more tolerable."
Come valorizzate gli artigiani di qualità locali?
"How are you showing that you value local shopkeepers?"
Siamo stati i primi a pensare di vendere i prodotti dei nostri artigiani su Amazon, nella sezione “Made in Italy”. Amazon ha mandato una squadra a Firenze che si è confrontata con le associazioni di categoria, il Comune ha pagato un fotografo per scattare delle belle foto. Oggi molti dei nostri artigiani sono tutti online e a rotazione vengono messi in primo piano, così viene anche stimolata la competitività. Anche questo è un modo per tutelare la residenza perché se sopravvivono le botteghe allora sopravvive anche la residenza."
"We were the first city to decide to sell its products on Amazon.com, in a section called "Made in Italy. We had Amazon send a team here, and the city hired photographers to make top notch pictures of their products to sell on Amazon. Our shopkeepers are now the first you find on search engines, and they compete compete with each other that way. We are also teaching the citizens who live here to support their local stores, because if their local stores survive, then their apartment is going to survive."
Come avete reagito al richiamo dell’Unesco?
How did you react to UNESCO's warning that Florence was in trouble (pertaining to its status as a UNESCO world heritage site.)?
"We said that we have to intervene in how we manage the historic city center. We have given ten suggestions to businesses that we recommend they follow such as those that forbid selling alcohol between 11 at night and 6 in the morning, that a certain percentage of the food served in Florence has to come from Tuscany, and we recommend that they don't open anymore slot machine game rooms in the city center."
(In summary, these are not Venetian problems, they are Italian problems. Italy has a declining population. After Rome, the city with the most Italians citizens living in it is London, where many youth have moved to. Venice just gets the headlines.)
Last edited by Perche; Nov 2, 2016 at 8:25 pm
Nov 2, 2016, 7:40 pm
#12
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Posts: 2,881
When I had this discussion in 2014, I don't think the Airbnb impact was anything like you're describing. I was told that something like a third of the houses were at least partially unoccupied mostly due to people leaving for employment opportunities. At the same time, I was told that most families were not interested in selling their places even if unused our little used for a variety of reasons. Short term rental was one of those. I heard nothing about forced evictions, but again I was talking about vacant properties.
I do use short term rental in Venice (I generally won't stay in hotels for more than 3 nights and I won't visit Venice for just 3 days.) but I prefer to go with local services or providers. Here again the reality is, the property I've booked from its owner through its own website, I've also seen listed on VRBO/Home Away. Though not on Airbnb. This property has been a short term rental for years.
As for interaction with the city, I'll make my own breakfast, but I'm not visiting Venice to cook meals at home. I stay home for that��. And I enjoy shopping for household staples while traveling. Its a great opportunity to interact with people in a non touristic venue. When I was last in Venice, the neighborhood I rented in was a real one, local shops and restaurants. Not a mask or glass shop around. This next time, its a family trip, with 3 generations. Choices were somewhat limited, but I found this more commercial property, a Palazzo, converted to two flats in Castello.
But really, from what you're saying (and I trust you implicitly about Venice) I'm not sure there's anything like a short term rental that wouldn't violate the spirit of what Venice desires. Which is going to be problematic as this type of accommodation is going to be increasingly popular. (In fact, FT is, I believe, about to set up a forum for this style of lodging).
I do use short term rental in Venice (I generally won't stay in hotels for more than 3 nights and I won't visit Venice for just 3 days.) but I prefer to go with local services or providers. Here again the reality is, the property I've booked from its owner through its own website, I've also seen listed on VRBO/Home Away. Though not on Airbnb. This property has been a short term rental for years.
As for interaction with the city, I'll make my own breakfast, but I'm not visiting Venice to cook meals at home. I stay home for that��. And I enjoy shopping for household staples while traveling. Its a great opportunity to interact with people in a non touristic venue. When I was last in Venice, the neighborhood I rented in was a real one, local shops and restaurants. Not a mask or glass shop around. This next time, its a family trip, with 3 generations. Choices were somewhat limited, but I found this more commercial property, a Palazzo, converted to two flats in Castello.
But really, from what you're saying (and I trust you implicitly about Venice) I'm not sure there's anything like a short term rental that wouldn't violate the spirit of what Venice desires. Which is going to be problematic as this type of accommodation is going to be increasingly popular. (In fact, FT is, I believe, about to set up a forum for this style of lodging).
Nov 2, 2016, 8:02 pm
#13
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,413
Ages ago Portofino started to restrict the number of nonlocal cars permitted to enter, at least on weekends or in high season. Their argument was based on the number of available parking spaces, so IIRC pedestrians and bicycles were allowed to enter.
I found a long line of cars and a police checkpoint, but I bypassed the line when I showed my written hotel confirmation. Otherwise the wait would have easily been hours, and this was only shoulder season.
Is the current plan to exempt this with hotel reservations from the ticket requirement or to guarantee them the right to purchase tickets for entrance to Venice? Also, is the ticket fee per day or per visit?
I found a long line of cars and a police checkpoint, but I bypassed the line when I showed my written hotel confirmation. Otherwise the wait would have easily been hours, and this was only shoulder season.
Is the current plan to exempt this with hotel reservations from the ticket requirement or to guarantee them the right to purchase tickets for entrance to Venice? Also, is the ticket fee per day or per visit?
Nov 2, 2016, 8:28 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SFO, VCE
Programs: AA EXP >4 MM, Lifetime Plat
Posts: 2,881
Ages ago Portofino started to restrict the number of nonlocal cars permitted to enter, at least on weekends or in high season. Their argument was based on the number of available parking spaces, so IIRC pedestrians and bicycles were allowed to enter.
I found a long line of cars and a police checkpoint, but I bypassed the line when I showed my written hotel confirmation. Otherwise the wait would have easily been hours, and this was only shoulder season.
Is the current plan to exempt this with hotel reservations from the ticket requirement or to guarantee them the right to purchase tickets for entrance to Venice? Also, is the ticket fee per day or per visit?
I found a long line of cars and a police checkpoint, but I bypassed the line when I showed my written hotel confirmation. Otherwise the wait would have easily been hours, and this was only shoulder season.
Is the current plan to exempt this with hotel reservations from the ticket requirement or to guarantee them the right to purchase tickets for entrance to Venice? Also, is the ticket fee per day or per visit?
Nov 2, 2016, 8:32 pm
#15
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,413
I understand that, but there must be some plan or at least discussion by now. I can't imagine that Venice would want to cut back on its (expensive) hotel business. If you're willing to pay to stay there, surely they would want to let you enter, although I could imagine hotels imposing an additional fee or tax for the privilege of entering Venice.